Ladle stopper head assembly



Aug. 19, 1969 'EIR. SMULL LADLE STOPPER HEAD I ASSEMBLY Original Filed May 1:5, 1964 Fig .4.

INVENTOR Eugene R. Smull United States Patent 3,462,121 LADLE STOPPER HEAD ASSEMBLY Eugene R. Smull, Monroeville, Pa., assignor to Vesuvius Crucible Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Continuation of application Ser. No. 367,158, May 13,

1964. This application Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 628,176

Int. Cl. F16k 25/00, 51/00, 5/02 U.S. Cl. 251357 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Ladle stopper head assembly including an insert comprising a plurality of cooperating sections of frangible refractory material fitting together to form a hollow generally cylindrical member, the sections comprising portions of an originally unitary member which can be sold and shipped in unitary form and which is weakened so that it can by the user be easily fractured into said plurality of sections by subjecting it to shock, the sections being adapted to be fitted together and having abutting face portions having interfitting projections and depressions resulting from the fracturing which when the sections are fitted together insure precise relative positioning thereof to form a member having the same form as the originally unitary member, such interfitting projections and depressions being the sole means insuring precise relative positioning of the sections.

This application is a continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 367,158, filed May 13, 1964, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a ladle stopper head assembly. It relates more particularly to a ladle stopper insert having unprecedented advantages in that it can be sold and shipped in unitary form yet can by the user be applied about the ladle stopper rod instead of having to be slid down along the rod from the top of the rod. The ladle stopper insert may be initially unitary but specially formed so that the user may very simply render it sectional.

An example of a ladle stopper insert of the general type to which my invention relates is the insert employed in the now very well known and universally used Rotolok ladle stopper of Vesuvious Crucible Company. Two forms of such a ladle stopper are shown in Patent No. 3,281,904. The ladle stopper comprises -a steel stopper rod, a refractory stopper head and an insert which is insertable into a well in the stopper head and is disposed about the stopper rod to connect the stopper head to the stopper rod. In the ice to have an equal number of rights and lefts to effectively use the inserts without wastage.

I have conceived of a ladle stopper insert which is made unitary but designed so that it can easily be transformed into a sectional insert by the user. This means that the insert can be sold and shipped in unitary form and indeed can be maintained in unitary form until just before it is to be used when the user may convert it into sectional form. The original unitary insert may be scored or slitted to provide zones of weakness yet it is designed to be strong enough to maintain its original unitary character until the user wishes to convert it into a sectional insert. At that time the user fractures the insert at the zones of weakness resulting in the provision of sections which may be fitted together about the stopper rod. The fracturing may be accomplished by subjecting the original unitary insert to shock, as, for example, by striking it with an instrument. If this is done the original unitary insert is preferably struck by the instrument at at least one of the zones of weakness whereupon it fractures generally along the scores or slits.

The sections of the sectional insert produced by fracturing the original unitary insert have abutting face portions having interfitting projections and depressions resulting from the fracturing which when the sections are fitted together insure precise relative positioning of the sections to form an insert having the same form as the original unitary hollow generally cylindrical insert. My insert has the further advantage that it need not be fractured unless desired and can be employed in unitary form by sliding it along the stopper rod from the top of the rod to its position in engagement with the flange at the bottom of the rod.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

forms shown in said patent the insert rests on a flange at the bottom of the stopper rod and has means for connection of the stopper head thereto. This type of structure is now in general use in steel plants throughout the world in ladles into which steel making furnaces are tapped and from which the molten steel is teemed into ingot molds.

Said patent discloses that the insert may be made sectional so that its sections may fit together about the rod, eliminating the necessity of sliding the insert along the whole length of the rod to position it against the flange at the bottom of the rod.

If the ladle stopper insert is made sectional it is desirable that the sections be designed so that When they are fitted together the sections are automatically maintained in proper cooperative relationship. There is a disadvantage in making the insert initially sectional as this means that the number of pieces to be made, handled and used is multiplied. It also poses a problem in supply to insure that an equal number of cooperative pieces or sections are available to make up the insert. If, for example, the insert is made in halves which are rights and lefts it is necessary In the accompanying drawings I have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a ladle stopper including the stopper head, stopper rod and insert, portions of the stopper head and stopper rod being cut away for a clearer showing of the insert, a sleeve disposed about the stopper rod above the stopper head being indicated by chain lines;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of the stopper rod with half of the insert applied thereto and the other half of the insert ready for application;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the insert before fracturing; and

FIGURE 4 is an axial cross-sectional view of the insert before fracturing taken on the line IVIV of FIGURE 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 an initially unitary ladle stopper insert 2 of the type shown in FIGURE 6 of said patent. The insert is made of frangible refractory material, for example, clay and graphite. It is of generally hollow cylindrical form and as shown is provided with external screw threads 3. It has a substantially smooth bore 4. The screw threads 3 constitute means for connection of a stopper head to the insert as shown in said patent. Indeed, except for the feature now to be described the initially unitary insert may be identical with either form of insert shown in said patent.

I form in the initially unitary insert 3 scores or slits 5 extending outwardly from the bore 4 as shown in FIG- URE 3 and also extending in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the insert. The scores or slits 5 extend part way only through the insert as shown in FIGURE 3. Such scores or slits are provided at a plurality of locations about the insert; in the form shown the slits 5 are diametrically opposed. The insert in slitted form as shown in FIGURE 3 may be sold and shipped and actually handled by the user up to just before being placed into service. At that time the user may subject the insert to shock, as, for example, by striking it with an instrument. It may be struck upon the top surface at one or both of the slits 5. The subjecting of the insert 2 to such shock results in fracturing of the insert and the formation of two separate cooperative halves 2a and 2b as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

Each of the insert sections or halves 2a and 2b has face portions 7 formed by fracturing of the insert 2, the face portions 7 of insert halves which were initially part of the same unitary insert having interfitting projections 9 and depressions 10 characteristic of a fractured surface produced by fracturing frangible material. The fractured surfaces are uneven but the opposed surfaces formed by fracturing are complementary, i.e., they fit together, insuring precise relative positioning of the halves 2a and 2b and formation of a composite insert of the same form as the original unitary insert. As shown in the drawings the interfitting projections and depressions are the sole means insuring precise relative positioning of the sections.

The abutting faces of the sections or halves 2a and 212 also have spaced apart portions 8 constituting the opposed faces of the slits 5 prior to fracturing.

My invention has a further advantage over a sectional insert in which the sections are separately manufactured in that when the sections are separately manufactured they may not always properly fit together, it being borne in mind that the refractory material is burned or fired after it is formed, which may result in some deformation. My initially unitary insert 2 is fired in unitary form and later fractured. The sections or halves of my sectional insert fit together perfectly as in the case of each insert the sections were originally a portion of a unitary insert which was fractured to produce them. The opposed contacting faces of the insert sections or halves are sufficiently rough or irregular that the sections cannot be fitted together in any except the original relationship which they occupied in the initially unitary insert. When the sections are fitted together in proper relationship they interfit perfectly. This insures proper relationship of the means for connection of a stopper head to the insert, e.g., in the threaded form of insert it insures proper mating of the thread portions on the insert sections.

FIGURE 1 shows a stopper head 11 into which the insert consisting of the two halves 2a and 2b is threaded, the insert being disposed about a conventional steel stopper rod 12 having at its bottom the usual flange 13. The

insert cooperates with the stopper rod and stopper head in i the same way as the insert of said patent but has the advantages above referred to over the insert of said patent. The halves 2a and 2b of the insert fit together as above described by reason of the projections 9 entering the complementary depressions 10, insuring fitting together of the halves of the insert with the threads of the respective halves properly mating so that the insert can be screwed into the stopper head. The bottom of the flange 13 of the stopper rod 12 seats on the bottom of the well in the stopper head and the insert is screwed into the stopper head to seat on the top of the flange 13. The stopper head is provided with an upwardly open well having internal threads shaped to mesh with the external threads of the insert. The insert projects above the top of the head as clearly shown in FIGURE 1 so that the sleeves, indicated by chain lines 14 in FIGURE 1, which surround the steel stopper rod 12 above the head 11 and protect it from the heat of the molten steel seat on the upwardly projecting portion of the insert and not on the top of the stopper head. The insert transmits the thrust of the sleeves to the rod flange and relieves the head of such thrust whereby the life of the head is greatly increased.

I claim:

1. A ladle stopper head assembly for attachment to a flanged stopper rod comprising a head with an upwardly open internally threaded well extending downwardly thereinto and a plurality of cooperating sections of frangible refractory material fitting together to form a hollow generally cylindrical member adapted to surround a stopper rod above the rod fiange and enter the well of the head and having threads at its outer periphery to mesh with the threads of the well and thereby connect said member to the head, said sections comprising portions of an originally unitary member having a substantially smooth bore and having substantially diametrically opposed slits intersecting said substantially smooth bore and extending a substantial portion of the distance through said member toward the outer periphery thereof and also extending in a direction generally parallel to the axis of said member substantially throughout its axial extent so that the originally unitary member can be sold and shipped in unitary form and can by the user be easily fractured into said plurality of sections by subjecting it to shock causing it to part at said slits due to the weakening effect of said slits so that said sections may be fitted together about the stopper rod, said sections when fitted together about the stopper rod being held together by the portion of the head constituting the wall of the well, said sections having abutting face portions having interfitting projections and depressions resulting from the fracturing which when the sections are fitted together insure precise relative positioning of the sections to form a member having the same form as the originally unitary member, such interfitting projections and depressions being the sole means insuring precise relative positioning of the sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,171,078 8/1939 Cline 137 797 XR 2,594,659 4/1952 Langvand 137 797 XR 3,040,400 6/1962 Coady 251 291 3,126,593 3/1964 Leinhos 251 291 3,183,564 5/1965 Murton 251 291 3,195,198 7/1965 Hoopes 251 291 3,262,673 7/1966 Seeley 251-367 FOREIGN PATENTS 457,355 11/1936 Great Britain.

SAMUEL SCOTT, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 137-316 

